The program is more popular with students thanwith outside academics. But Harvard has stuck byit nonetheless.
"I turned down some schools it would have beenfinancially easier to go to because of the NewPathways," Spira says.
Tram says New Pathways succeeds in teachingstudents to be more compassionate. In addition,its case study method stresses actual learninginstead of rote memorization.
"You need to be competent. But you need to becompassionate too," he says.
And because New Pathways allows students morefree time, it allows the Medical School to producemore well-rounded doctors.
"Everyone here is working in some capacity. Butto have free time to do research, to do whatyou're interested in--at other schools you don'thave this opportunity," Tram says.
As a result, administrators and students say,Harvard has begun to regain its popularity withapplicants. Faculty hope this year's applicantincrease--109 more than last year--is the start ofa new trend for the Med School.
The Immediate Future
Unfortunately, administrators say, the signsare not so promising from undergraduates.
According to a study by the College's Office ofCareer Services (OCS),student interest in medicinedropped from 19.3 percent in 1976 to 10.2 percentlast year. Meanwhile, interest in lucrative lawand business careers has generally remained steadyor increased, luring away many qualified students.
"If I want to make money, business school andlaw school makes a lot more money than we do,"Tram says.
Among current Harvard undergraduates, interestin the life sciences has declined similarly. Thenumber of students concentrating in biology andbiochemistry--the most common pre-medconcentrations--dropped 29 percent over the lastfive years, from 688 to 487.
But Hope W. Wigglesworth, health careerscounselor at OCS, says job interest is cyclical,and predicts the declining interest in medicalschool will start to level off soon.
For now, doctors and academics are looking fora bright side to the increasing dearth of medicalstudents. Since the medical profession has becomeless appealing, many say new doctors must be morecommitted to helping people and less interested inprofits and status.
"A person has to love the career to go intoit," Tram says. "It's really a commitment."
"Maybe people are thinking a little bit longerand harder about why they want to be a doctor,"Wigglesworth says.
But so long as the medical profession continuesto lose its appeal, many say that kind of optimismis of little help.
As Poussaint says, "the changing face ofmedicine--it's much more of a big blur."